Negotiator (2014 film)

Negotiator (Spanish: Negociador) is a 2014 Spanish film written and directed by Borja Cobeaga which stars Ramón Barea.

Negotiator
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Negociador
Directed by	Borja Cobeaga
Written by	Borja Cobeaga
Produced by	Nahikari Ipiña Borja Cobeaga
Starring	Ramón Barea Josean Bengoetxea Carlos Areces Melina Matthews Jons Pappila Santi Ugalde Gorka Aguinagalde Maria Cruickshank Nagore Aranburu Alejandro Tejería Secun de la Rosa Raúl Arévalo Óscar Ladoire
Cinematography	Jon D. Domínguez
Edited by	Carolina Martínez
Music by	Aránzazu Calleja
Production company	Sayaka Producciones
Distributed by	Avalon
Release dates	September 2014 (2014-09) (Zinemaldia) 13 March 2015 (2015-03-13) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

Plot

The plot follows the plight of Basque politician Manu Aranguren, the contact person in the negotiations between ETA and the Spanish government.

Cast

• Ramón Barea as Manu Aranguren^[1]
• Josean Bengoetxea [es] as Jokin^[2]
• Melina Matthews as Sophie^[2]
• Jöns Pappila as James^[2]
• Carlos Areces as Patxi^[2]
• Maria Cruickshank [eu] as Fayna^[2]
• Óscar Ladoire as Alberto^[3]
• Raúl Arévalo as Rafa^[3]
• Secun de la Rosa^[3]
• Gorka Aguinagalde [es]^[4]
• Santi Ugalde [es]^[4]
• Alejandro Tejería [es]^[4]
• Nagore Aranburu^[5]

Production

The film was produced by Sayaka Producciones, and it had the participation of ETB, the Basque Government, and Canal+.^[6] Shooting locations included San Sebastián.^[7]

Release

Negotiator was presented in the 'Zabaltegi' section of the 62nd San Sebastián Film Festival in September 2014. Distributed by Avalon, it was released theatrically in Spain on 13 March 2015.^[8][9]

Reception

Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter considered Negotiator a "briskly amusing" film, otherwise writing that "droll peek behind political headlines is elevated by strong, engaging performances".^[2]

Ricardo Aldarondo of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing about the film's "bravery and insight".^[4]

Andrea G. Bermejo of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be Cobeaga's "least 'funny' comedy but his most brilliant film" in the verdict.^[9]

Javier Ocaña of El País billed the film as "a historic film for our cinema and for our society" [...] pursuing "a painful, black, brilliant, tragic and atrocious humor, about the deformation of language, about the miseries of the recent history of the Basque Country, about the miseries of the human race".^[10]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2014	62nd San Sebastián International Film Festival	Irizar Basque Film Award		Won	[11]
2016	3rd Feroz Awards	Best Comedy Film		Won	[12][13]
		Best Screenplay	Borja Cobeaga	Nominated
		Best Main Actor in a Film	Ramón Barea	Nominated
		Best Film Poster	Iñaki Villuendas, Jorge Alvariño	Nominated
	30th Goya Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Borja Cobeaga	Nominated	[14]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2015